"Dogs" Update

It's been a busy week here! Everyone taking care of things before Easter. Good news! My photography project, Dogs and Their Women, is beginning to take off like a wildfire with a Santa Ana winds blowing behind it! Over the last two days I've had 7 emails of women who are either volunteering for the project or know of someone who might be interested. This is exciting!

I've heard from a "Yoga" dog, a police dog, mistreated rescue dogs, and pure bred dogs. Women are starting to answer the questions I've posed for them and soon I'll be scheduling sessions that are sure to be exciting and exhilarating. This weekend I'll be photographing at Central Bark - Oak Creek and passing out my flyers, so I anticipate more inquiries.

Now I need to include an older woman, a child or teenager and people that have a unique story to tell about their relationship with their dog. Spread the word - woof, woof!

Here's a shot of my Ellie, the elegant coonhound, taking a snooze in a sunbeam. She loves to lie in the sun and will move from room to room to find the sun. Smart dog!

Mail Day in McCarthy, AK

Imagine that you live 60 miles from the nearest paved road in a vast wilderness of 13.2 million acres. Your only power comes from solar panels or propane, usually in the form of a generator. On a good, summer day, it takes about 2.5 hours to drive that 60 miles and in the winter, it's not unusual to get to 50 below zero. If it's a Wednesday or a Friday, it's Mail Day!

In Alaska, planes are like cars. They are a dominate form of transportation to remote areas and are often the "lifeline" to a community. McCarthy and Kennecott are two small communities of about 40 year-round people that reside in the heart of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve. They are served by Copper Valley Air Service on mail days.

A small shed is the post office, where volunteers unload the plane and sort the mail into everyone's slots. Folks stand around catching up with one another about weather, trapping success, good books read lately, etc. The mail shed's not heated so if you're dressed for snow machining, you're dressed for mail day! After the mails sorted, they grab their mail, and maybe a "neighbor's," and take off for home on their snow machine or cross-country skis. But if you're a winter visitor, like me, it's plan to have someone meet you that has a sled on the back of their snow machine so they can haul your gear to your cabin!

I flew both ways on this plane and loved seeing scenery I had come to appreciate only in Spring, Summer and Fall. When you experience such a vast place like Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve, and take in such extreme beauty, words like awe, wonderment and humble are so tiny to try to describe snow covered mountains, river & glaciers that repeat in an unending fashion.

It was in 1999 that I met retired National Geographic Photographer, George Mobley, at his part-time residence in WSENP&P. After chit-chatting for a while, I asked him, "George, you've been all over the world on assignments and seen some of the most beautiful places in the world. What made you decide to live part of the year here in Wrangell-St. Elias?" His eyes spoke to me before his words. "Because it IS the most beautiful place in the world." No further questions, your honor.

I'm grateful for my experiences and the friendships I've made in the our nation's LARGEST and least visited national park in our system. For more information about this park, visit: www.nps.gov/wrst/

Ready for Snow

Tonight just might be the last night we see any measurable snow before Spring sets in. I've already spotted Robins in mid-March and now see Teardrops, Tulips and some little Crocuses sprouting up out of the warming soil. Tonight's forecast is merely a distraction from the "big picture," and just a little communication that we're really not in charge.

I was working on some images today, as well as ripping down an old, back porch (did you only think I was good with a camera? It's amazing what you can accomplish with a crowbar!).

This image probably best describes what's playing out in nature these days. Sam's ready for winter, with his "all boy," winter hat on, and yet one could argue that he's ready to hit the beach with his bare shoulder showing. That sums up the attitude of about 99% of anyone that lives above the 40th parallel! So when I walk the dogs in the morning, I may need that hat, gloves and down coat, but soon, very soon, they'll get washed, put away and replaced with shorts and a T-shirt. (If you're a dog, you have it easy when it comes to choosing a wardrobe!)

Just bat your baby blues, like Sam, and repeat, "Spring's right around the corner. Spring's right around . . . "